


Personal Training

by hops



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Modern AU, Porn With Plot, coffee shop AU, personal trainer au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 03:59:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19034332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hops/pseuds/hops
Summary: Lucretia joined Faerun Fitness on a whim. She was not expecting her personal trainer to be such a catch.





	Personal Training

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HMK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMK/gifts).



> yo so i started this over a year ago based on a brief conversation we had in the discord (THANKS ESTHER FOR MY LIFE) and i finally finished this shit, so!!!!! it's so long, why do i do this to myself!!!!! enjoy!!!!

Lucretia had joined Faerun Fitness on a whim. It’d been Lup’s idea, of course. A “half-new year’s resolution” in July to make up for the fact that they had never cut back on wine or tried vegetarianism like they had promised on January 1st. Lucretia wasn’t sure why they kept offering resolutions that weren’t realistic. Regularly going to the gym seemed like just another commitment that would be almost immediately dropped to the wayside. 

The first session at the gym was to be with a personal trainer. Lucretia wound up going alone because, surprise, Lup had already found a reason to skip leg day. And so she showed up with her new bag and new gym clothes and looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. There was nothing to be anxious about. The trainer would show her around the gym, show her a few things, and then she’d be free to move about her venture into fitness solo. She was a full-grown woman who wasn’t afraid of gym equipment and very fit gym employees. Not at all. 

Upon walking out of the locker room, her anxiety spiked. Standing by the front desk was a man in his thirties, broad and tall, wearing a big, goofy grin as he talked to the two women, one slim and short and the other quite burly, behind the desk. His booming laugh carried all the way to where she stood in the doorway. 

The man turned his attention to her, still smiling. “Hey! You must be Lucretia?” 

“I am,” she said, stomach tight. “Nice to meet you…” 

“Magnus Burnsides.  _ The Hammer,  _ as my friends call me. Just kidding, they don’t call me that.” 

Lucretia laughed. He was quite charming. Handsome. 

Lup was always going on about Lucretia needing to put herself out there.  _ Get out of the house more. Come out to the bar! You can’t always be working on those books.  _ But she was older now, and it was easier to spend her weekend nights on the couch with her laptop rather than out with a younger crowd she no longer felt a part of. Magnus was, of course, a member of that crowd. 

And so she exhaled and asked: “Shall we?” 

Magnus led her around the gym, first to cardio, then to the weights. He showed her how a few of the simpler machines worked and noted the exercises that would be good for someone of her skill level. After showing her the free weights, then the cycles, he brought her to the open stretching area in the corner, mirrors and mats and all. 

Magnus clapped, taking a wide-legged stance between Lucretia and the mirror. . “Okay. Stretching? Super important. I know it’s easy to just jump in or whatever, but if you don’t stretch first, it’s bad. Trust me.” 

Lucretia nodded. “I’ve done a little yoga in my time.” 

“Nice, cool, cool, got something to work with here.” 

They discussed different stretches and their corresponding muscles, about warmups and cooldowns and not overworking the body. Lucretia couldn’t stop watching the rippling muscles of his arms as he spoke with his hands. When she tried to look him in the eye as he spoke, her gaze wandered to his lips. She quickly scolded herself and corrected her attention. She was glad the gym was a bit warm and she could blame her flushed cheeks on that.

She tired an oblique stretch, raising one arm gracefully over her head and leaning to one side. Magnus approached her, looking at her form. 

“You really wanna reach for it, right? So, you gotta lean further, and really reach, like you’re holding onto a rope, or reaching for something that’s  _ just  _ that far out of your hands. You know?” 

Lucretia nodded and stretched a little further. 

“There you go. Try to relax your sides, loosen up that spine. you wanna be one curved line.” He raised a hand to show her the angle of her body as she stretched to the side. “That’s good,” he said, staring intently as her body as it extended and the tension left her midsection. Despite the stretching, the knot in her stomach grew unbearably tight. She almost shivered as his hand grazed over the arc of her side, pressing light and flat up her ribcage, then reached and took her arm, leading her a little further into the stretch. His rough hand was so much  _ bigger  _ than hers as it wrapped around her wrist. Her teeth caught her tongue and she leaned back up and his touch fell away. 

She spent the rest of the session a little wobbly. When Magnus laughed, she laughed. And when it was over, she felt a pang of sadness that her time was up. She figured she’d see him around the gym, if she kept coming, that was. Perhaps a handsome trainer was enough of a reason to stick to her resolution. 

What would he do when he saw her again? Make conversation? Smile in passing? Ignore her? 

“Well, it looks like you’re off to a great start!” Magnus said sincerely as they returned to the front desk. “If you found this helpful and you wanna sign up for any more sessions, Carey here can do that for you.” He put a hand beside his mouth to feign a whisper. “But I understand that most people just want the free one and then for me to shut up and leave ‘em alone. So I get it. And I won’t be offended. Promise.” 

“No! This was great!” Lucretia said, her voice cracking a little bit. She immediately wished she could kick herself. “Thank you, Magnus.” 

“No problemo. Don’t be a stranger! If you need any more help, just lemme know.” 

“I will.” 

Magnus gave her one last beaming grin, then disappeared behind the desk and into a back room. Carey sat looking at her with amused expectancy on her face. Her hair was tucked neatly into a knit hat with spiny points down the center like a mohawk.

“We’re running a deal, you know,” Carey said, her rough voice tinged by a hidden smile. “Five sessions for a 30% discount.” 

“Sure. Let’s do that.” 

Lucretia gathered her things from the locker room quickly, feeling flustered and maybe even a little embarrassed. When she got back home, she finally exhaled and tried to center her thoughts. 

Okay. A good-looking trainer at the gym. That she would be seeing five more times if she kept actually showing up to the gym. A good looking trainer who was going to touch her sides and hold her wrists and there was absolutely nothing to feel drawn towards or distracted by. Nope. Just figuring out some fitness. 

As she washed up in the shower, thankful to be alone in the steaming privacy of her bathroom, there was  _ much  _ to be drawn towards and distracted by. But she washed off and went about her day and tried to ignore the persistent thoughts of Magnus’s mouth and the charming crooked line of his smirk. 

The next time she returned to the gym, Magnus was waiting there with a towel and a smile just for her. They went over some cardio and she tried her hardest not to stare at the muscles under his tan skin as he ran on the treadmill, but it was hard to when he wore a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. As his arms moved, she could see the rise and fall of his abdomen as he breathed. 

Her third time at the gym, he showed her a bunch of weights she might want to use for her legs. “Never skip leg day,” he reminded her. “Unless your legs hurt. Then, your secret’s safe with me.” He laughed and put his hands on the tops of her thighs to keep her steady for a moment and she thought she might explode. 

And the fourth, she came back eager and nervous, nearly  _ trembling  _ as he placed a hand on her waist to straighten her posture. Her eyes flashed to the mirror for just a moment and she saw just how big his hand was as it settled against the curve of her side. And then, she could have sworn she saw his hazel eyes flicker to their reflection too. But just as soon, he took his hand away and returned to their routine as if nothing had happened. 

It burned inside her, the persistent desire for him to just touch her just a little more. It’d been so  _ long  _ since someone had touched her like that all, and god, she wanted him to more than anything else. When she got home, she locked herself in the bathroom and fucked herself in the hot shower, unable to push her desire down any further. 

Her resolve was weakening. But there was just one more session and then she could stop torturing herself like this. (But secretly, she didn’t want to. Secretly, she wanted to get five more sessions and revel in the feeling of his innocuous guiding touches that drove her so wild.)

She knew it was a bit invasive. Probably wrong. Definitely weird. But she couldn’t help it. When she was out of the shower and wet and shivering, she lay down on her back in her bed and fucked herself again. And as she came, she cried out and gripped the sheets and pictured his hand running down her sides and thighs. And inside her, his name thrumming persistent and hot:  _ Magnus, Magnus, Magnus.  _

She couldn’t  _ not  _ think about him. When she wasn’t at the gym, her mind wandered to the next time she would be. It was nearly impossible to focus on her writing. She paced her living room, hands on her forehead, laptop untouched, looking helplessly at her cat.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. The cat meowed. 

She decided to force herself to go down to the local coffee shop to work. Having people around would keep her more focused than having all that silence to herself for her mind to wander off into. She ordered her chai from Lup’s brother, Taako, the owner of the place, behind the counter, chatting for a moment before diving into her work. Then, she sat down, rolled her neck, and started writing. 

She got more done than she would have at home, but it was still a painfully slow process compared to the usual speed at which she worked. It was getting ridiculous. She couldn’t be so distracted that it affected her work. Getting behind deadlines over this now? No, no. 

But, of all things, Magnus walking through the door during the afternoon lull in business didn’t help. Neither did the way her mouth hung helplessly open, or the quick dart of her eyes to anywhere but him. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to see her or if she wanted to completely disappear. 

She watched on as he ordered something that looked foamy, then Taako topped it with whipped cream and drizzled caramel with a flourish. And, before Lucretia could think to look away, Magnus turned almost directly to her and caught her eye. Her stomach dropped.

“Hey! Lucretia!” He said, balancing the saucer so he could raise a hand to wave. “What’s up? How are you?” 

_ Just! Relax!  _ She forced herself to smile as he stopped to talk beside the table. “I’m good, Magnus. Just doing some writing. Some days it’s a slow process. Is today your day off?” 

He looked  _ good  _ dressed up for a trip to the coffee shop instead of his usual gym garb. His flannel shirt fell just right so she could follow the lines of his arms and his broad chest down to his abdomen. She wondered what it’d be like to touch him, to splay a hand out over him and slide up to his chest and— 

Her cheeks were hot as she focused on his voice mid-sentence. Yes, today was his day off. And his caramel latte was a weekly treat. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned and put a finger over his mouth, making her promise not to tell the gym’s other patrons. She chuckled and promised and paused, looking at the empty seat in front of her. 

Worst case, she’d never go back to the gym, right? Did it matter? 

“Do you want to sit?” she offered. And he accepted and sat down across from her and her heart hammered so fast that she thought it might explode. 

They talked for a long time, sipping their drinks until they were cold, laughing and chatting about the gym and work and music and what little she knew about sports. He loved dogs. A lot. Maybe too much for her taste, but it was so endearing (and made so much sense). He was a woodworker, and as he flipped through photos of his work on his phone, she put the pieces together on how his hands were so rough and strong.

She wanted to reach across the table and touch them. But she didn’t. 

It wasn’t until Taako went to the door and flipped the closed sign that she realized the sun had gone down and they’d been talking for  _ hours.  _

“Alright  _ kids,”  _ Taako said, motioning to the door. “I’m going home, so… get the fuck out of my shop.” 

Magnus laughed and jabbed Taako in the side. “Yeah, yeah,” he teased and stood up. Lucretia’s stomach dropped yet again. She didn’t want him to go, and if she wanted to ask— 

Ask what? Ask him out? Really? 

She settled in her seat and watched Magnus say goodbye to Taako. She didn’t know they were friends. 

“See you soon?”

And Taako’s lazy grin. “You know it, baby.” 

She wondered if he was just being Taako, or if he was flirting. Were they…? Was he…?

“Hey, this was so great, Lucretia.” Her heart almost stopped beating altogether. “See you on Friday?” 

For their session. Yes. Their personal training session at his job this Friday. She didn’t wish for anything else, definitely not the strength to ask him out for Friday night instead. Not at all.

“I look forward to it. Great seeing you.” 

Magnus left the shop (and in those jeans, she didn’t mind watching him go) and left her to pack up her things and gather her thoughts to leave. Taako was used to her being the last one in the shop, anyhow. 

“You know,” Taako started, hopping up on the counter to sit on the edge. “You actually have to  _ flirt  _ if you want to get somewhere with him.” 

Lucretia blinked, trying to figure out if he just said what she thought he said. 

“Alright, don’t look so lost.  _ Listen.  _ He’s a catch, right? I know it. But he’s also dense. Dumb as a brick sometimes. So you gotta work a little harder if you want it.” 

Lucretia couldn’t resist. “Did you…?”

Taako shrugged.

“Is he…?”

“He’s still in your orbit, bubbeleh. Don’t you worry.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, then paused, allowing herself a devious smile. “It was good?”

Taako nearly cackled, swinging his legs over the counter and jumping behind the bar. “If you wrangle that one, you’re in for a treat.” 

And so Lucretia returned to the gym on Friday, arriving late into the evening when the gym was for the most part empty. Killian was at the desk. 

“Hey.” She smiled and jerked her thumb towards the gym. “Magnus is—“ 

Lucretia looked over Killian’s shoulder and caught sight of Magnus on his back, bench pressing what looked to be  _ a lot  _ of weight. His whole body tensed, feet pushing to the ground, his jaw set hard. His biceps flexed and then finally relaxed as he set the bar back above him and sat up on the bench. 

Lucretia had to consciously close her mouth as Killian called, “Yo, Mags!” 

Magnus got up and jogged over to the desk. “Hey! Sorry, I was—“ 

“No! I was late,” Lucretia assured him, resisting the urge to reach out and touch his arm. “Here, let’s—“ 

“Do you wanna put your bag—“ 

“Yeah! I’ll— yeah.” 

Lucretia scurried into the locker room and took a deep breath,  _ really  _ wanting to kick herself now. But she  _ wanted  _ this. She wanted to flirt with him. She wanted to take that risk. It’d been so long since she’d done anything like that. Since she’d been with anyone like him. Self-consciousness be damned. 

She faced the mirror for a long moment and looked at herself nervously.  _ Self-consciousness be damned.  _

She straightened herself, walked out of the locker room, and met him by the mirrors. 

“You ready?” he asked, smiling at her. And she smiled back.

“Yes, I am.” 

They stretched together, arms and back and neck, then legs, and from time to time he’d lay a steadying hand on her and the subsequent goosebumps would sway her balance or make her blush. When she told him the backs of her legs were a little tight, he had her lay down on her back, and as she reclined and rested there for a moment, waiting for his direction, she felt utterly helpless. He returned and kneeled by her side, so close, nearly touching her stomach. She pressed her thighs together and hoped that he couldn’t tell she was burning below him. 

“So you wanna get your hands under your knee, on the back of your thigh,” Magnus instructed slowly, watching as she gripped behind her knee and eased her leg up. “Then pull it back towards you, to your chest if you can.” 

She pulled her leg against herself and stretched, then extended the leg back out. Magnus quietly instructed her to do it again and, against her hopes for better judgment or control, she felt a sharp pang of heat in her gut. She stretched.

“Yeah, that’s good,” Magnus said thoughtfully, watching her legs as she moved her grip to stretch the other. The sound of his voice, those words, made her weak. “Feel that?” 

Lucretia swallowed. “Yeah.” 

Her heart hammered loudly enough in her ears that she was sure he must have been able to hear it, too. She turned her head away for a moment and steadied herself but was jolted back with the feeling of his hand gently guiding her back by the shin. 

She arched her back and just barely pushed her chest in his direction, wanting him to touch her more, give her  _ more  _ than just this. She couldn’t focus. She shifted out of his grasp and sat up. 

“You okay?” 

“Yes. Just haven’t— ah, stretched, in a while. I’m sorry.” 

“Let me know if you need a break.”

Lucretia nodded and put a hand on her forehead and got up slowly. He led her through some slower exercises, lunges, squats, and every one made her stomach feel like a white-hot knot of energy that just needed his hands to come unravel it all at once

When they moved to lifting and she was sitting on the leg curl machine, she tucked her feet below the bottom bar and raised her legs slowly. And when he eased a hand up onto her thigh, she sucked in a sharp breath. For just a moment they locked eyes and this time there was no question; the same desire, just a glimmer of it, was reflected there on his face. She looked away quickly, unsure of what else to do. 

Her thoughts started running a thousand miles a minute. Neither of them said anything, but he kept his big hand steady on her thigh, fingers pressing into her flesh, as she kept doing her curls.

The rest of the session passed so slowly she thought she might burst. As she used the leg press, he put a hand over her stomach. When a stray curl fell from her ponytail and into her face while she was lifting, he pushed it away. There was no way he  _ wasn’t  _ doing it on purpose, now, and somehow that made her feel so much better and  _ so much worse  _ at the same time. The anxiety and desire inside her climbed in equal parts until she was a mess, a blazing fire without anything to extinguish her. When they were finished, Magnus sent her off to the locker room and she nearly tripped over herself in her haste to be able to breathe alone for a moment. 

She showered there at the gym, her thoughts running quickly away from her. She wanted this to be real. She wanted this to be a mutual thing, but god, he was so far out of her league, and she was… they were… This was his job, was this even  _ allowed?  _ Would he get in trouble if she tried to say anything or tried to make a move? 

She got out of the shower and sighed, toweling off and getting dressed. No, she couldn’t. It would be terrible to put him at risk, and besides, she liked this gym. Or did she just like  _ him?  _

She got closer to the mirror as she put on chapstick and mascara and sighed even louder. She was trying to talk herself out of it. That was what this was. 

She walked out of the locker room, her curls still damp, and found him waiting by the door. He looked terribly anxious, but his eyes still lit up when he caught sight of her. She smiled a little. 

“Thanks for—” 

“Hey can I— okay, this is probably not— I’m sorry, this is probably weird, and I promise I’m not trying to make it weird?” Magnus rambled, his cheeks flushing red. He pointed bashfully in the direction of the parking lot. “But me and Carey and Killian were gonna go up the road for a couple drinks if you wanted to come? But like, no pressure, you totally don’t have to and if that’s weird I won’t bother you again—” 

Lucretia beamed, all of her anxieties coming to a halt. It wasn’t weird. He wanted this too. “It’s not weird. Just… your job? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”  

Magnus relaxed some. “Well… I’m probably definitely not supposed to do this and I was  _ really  _ nervous to, but after the other day at the coffee shop, I— we’re like,  _ friendly.  _ And the boss is never around anyway. Not that I would abuse that, I just— I was pretty sure, I mean— you seemed—”  

Lucretia couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah? That obvious?” 

Magnus, still pink, laughed too. “A little. But I’m sure I was, too.” 

“Well, now that that’s out of the way?” 

“Let’s go.” He smiled. 

His grin was almost devilish and for just a moment she let herself feel it, the heat growing in the pit of her stomach. She followed him out across the parking lot and she left her things in his car. They walked next to each other, huddled in the evening breeze, brushing arms as they walked behind Carey and Killian. Ahead of them, the two women held hands and talked loudly about who was worse at video games. Lucretia and Magnus laughed. 

“I’m glad you came,” Magnus said, opening the door for her. 

“Me too.” 

They got a booth by the pinball machine and as Lucretia moved to sit, Magnus put a big hand on her lower back. She can’t help but press into the touch for a moment. She was sober, but as she sat in the booth and reaches for the drink menu, her head spun. Magnus left to get them a round and Carey and Killian looked at her, both grinning. 

“Thanks for coming out! It’s nice to hang with someone who’s not these two idiots.” Killian motioned to Carey, then to Magnus at the bar. Carey jabbed her in the ribs with two fingers. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t make our pal immediately regret her decision, huh?” 

Lucretia laughed. “I’m not regretting a thing. Promise.” 

“I bet—” Carey started, and Killian jabbed her in the ribs twice as hard. “Ow!” 

Lucretia opened her mouth, but Magnus returned to the table with four ciders between his fingers on both hands. She retrieved them and set them on the table, lingering at the brush of his fingers for just a moment before pulling away and taking the sweating bottle into her hand. 

They chatted with Carey and Killian for a while, sipping their drinks and talking about work at first, then gossiping about gym regulars, then arguing over favorite movies. Lucretia found herself smiling, feeling comfortable beside Magnus. Under the table, his thigh pressed gently up against hers and lust struck her in the chest. 

Killian bought the next round and they drank together and laughed and told old drunk stories and talked about years spent at school and terrible first dates. Magnus’s hand wandered along the meeting of their legs and every nerve ending inside her turned to fireworks. She pressed her leg against his, wanting  _ more.  _ Wanting him. 

She’d forgotten for a moment that Carey and Killian were still right there. But Carey stretched and let out a big, dramatic yawn and got up from the table. “Well, I’m fuckin’ wiped. Sorry to be a grandma, guys, but we should all hang again soon, yeah?” 

Lucretia agreed and Magnus looked at her. “Do you have to go? It’s okay if you do, we can go get your things.” 

His eyes were sincere, but somewhere in his gaze was the hungry hope that she would stay, and she felt it burning hot in her blood. “No, I can stay, if you want to.” 

“Yeah. I do.” 

Carey and Killian left them and Magnus got them another round of drinks, still sitting on her side of the booth when he returned, not caring that the other side was empty. As they sipped and chatted over the noise of the bar, he put his hand on her thigh. Not to steady her through an exercise, no, but to touch her, intentionally, like new. She leaned closer to him and he smiled. 

“Really, I’m glad you gave this a shot. You are…” he trailed off, looking her up and down. Her heart leapt into her throat but she said nothing, waiting for him to finish the thought. “You’re really something, Lucretia.” 

“You’re something yourself,” she teased. She poked his chest with one finger, and suddenly they were so close that she could have kissed him if she had just leaned up and swallowed down her nerves. But she didn’t, she  _ couldn’t,  _ and she froze there as the tension between them pulled even tighter. This was her chance, though, an opening to at least say  _ something.  _ She tried to remember how to flirt. “You’re… handsome, for one.” She watched as his cheeks flushed red. “Funny. Charming. Ah… fit?” She laughed. “Is there a polite way to tell someone they’re hot?” 

He laughed loudly from his belly and it made her smile. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for the past two hours, yeah. So I could tell you, um, the same?” 

His breath smelled of cider as it brushed over her cheek and neck. He was looking at her with something burning in his eyes. She wanted to be just a little closer to him, if only to just  _ be close.  _ But instead, he leaned in and kissed her, short but with force, in response. Then, he pulled away, eyes wide, asking her if that was okay with only his eyes. 

She let out a breath and moved immediately forward for another kiss in return. And then, realizing that they were still in a booth in the middle of a bar just a few blocks from Magnus’s place of employment, she pulled away, cheeks just as hot as his. Inside her, a tangled mess of nerves and arousal demanded her attention. 

Magnus swallowed. “We should— let’s go have a drink at my place? It’s not far from here and we can—” 

“Let’s go,” she agreed quickly. She didn’t want to sound too eager, but she thought that if she spent one more minute in this place without her hands on him, kissing him for more than just one brief moment at a time, she might combust. She felt a little lightheaded as he led her out the door and onto the sidewalk, the alcohol leaving her pleasantly buzzed and practically walking on air. 

“My place is just—” 

She grabbed him and as soon as they were out of sight through the bar windows, she pinned him to the brick wall beside them and kissed him hard. He made a noise of surprise into her mouth and she smiled as he kissed her back. 

“Let’s— let’s— come on, my place, we’ve got plenty of time to—” 

She kissed him a few more times before she let him go. He held out his arm and she hooked onto him, admiring the feeling of his muscles beneath his thin jacket. He managed to make small talk on their way funny and comfortable, despite both of them buzzing with nerves. 

When they arrived at his apartment, he let her in and showed her up the stairs. As soon as he opened the door, she was greeted by a large but docile dog who waited patiently at her feet for her to pet him. 

“That’s just Johann, don’t mind him. He’s a good boy, too old to be jumping all over you.” He watched as Lucretia hesitantly scratched the top of Johann’s head. “Isn’t that right, Johann?” And out of his jacket pocket, he produced a treat and handed it to the dog. Johann retreated into the other room and Lucretia smiled to herself. He tossed his keys onto the counter and turned to her. “Can I get you something? Cider? Water?” 

Lucretia fidgeted with the zipper of her jacket, thinking about his mouth on hers at the bar. She didn’t  _ want  _ anything, except for him to do  _ that  _ again, but he was being polite, and she didn’t want to seem too eager. God knows she already had. “Cider is good.” 

He pulled two ciders from the fridge and cracked them open, a smile touching his lips as he tossed the caps into a bowl on the counter. He handed her one of the cold bottles and motioned towards the modest living room. “Wanna sit?”

After they had shed their jackets and tossed them aside, Magnus flopped down easily onto the couch. When she hesitated for a moment, he held out an arm. “Hey. Lots of room. Very comfy. Certified Magnus approved.” 

Lucretia laughed and shook her head, taking a seat beside him and settling in. It  _ was  _ quite comfortable. She took a long sip of cider and tried not to focus on the persistent feeling that their small silences were awkward. But Magnus talked enough for both of them, asked her questions, laughed at her wry humor. And when she was nearly to the bottom of the cider, she noticed that even with the tension and want that had remained from their kiss, she still enjoyed just… spending time with him. Talking to him about things other than seated trapezius stretches. 

It wasn’t until she’d discarded her empty bottle on the coffee table that she realized she’d drifted closer to him and, as she leaned forward, he ran his hand lightly over her thigh. A tiny breath escaped her at the touch. 

“If you just wanna hang out, that’s cool too,” Magnus said, sounding a little nervous. She looked over at him and his eyes were sincere. Perhaps even apologetic. 

She leaned in close and kissed him softly and, just like earlier, he made a small noise of surprise. When she pulled away, she said, “I’m  _ cool  _ if you are,” mimicking his speech. 

He chuckled and moved in for another kiss. “Yeah,” he murmured just before their mouths met and they eased back onto the couch. His mouth was hot against hers, sucking at her bottom lip, dragging his teeth lightly as he broke one kiss, then immediately went back for another. Lucretia’s nerves had been tightly wound, but they were drowned out by the intensity of Magnus’s touch. Reservation gone, she slid a hand into his hair and tugged, a tiny gasp escaping her as he moaned in response. 

It’d been a while since Lucretia had gotten laid, and she’d been thinking about it  _ with Magnus _ for some time now. That would account for her eagerness, and her enthusiasm, but it didn’t quite explain the lack of inhibition. But she wasn’t complaining. 

“That’s good,” she breathed, opening her eyes to watch him panting lightly, a smile on his face. She dove right back into kissing him, taking care to move from his lips to his jaw and down to his neck. Magnus tensed, tipping his hips up to press against her, and there he was, already half-hard against her thigh. She grinned and kissed him slowly, pushing back against his erection to let him know she was well-aware. 

His big hands moved slowly over her, down her sides, across her back, up over her breasts where he stopped to tease a nipple through her thin shirt and bra. He moaned loudly as she continued kissing his neck and teasing at his earlobe and dragging her tongue over his pulse. As he took a palmful of her breast, she bit back her own moan and shifted so she was propped up beside him, then got up to straddle him entirely, if only for him handle her hips and thighs like that, too. He did so immediately; both hands reached up for her lower back, then moved slowly down her hips, cupping them in his hands, then moved onto her thighs where his fingers pressed into the softness of her skin. She moved in tiny circles as he touched her, grinding slowly over his crotch, feeling the insistent bulge beneath his pants. He took her hips into his hands and pulled her down onto him so their bodies met just so, his dick waiting between them.

“Sorry—” Magnus breathed in a rush, his face flushed pink to the tips of his ears. “Is this okay?” Lucretia trailed one hand gently down his chest and stomach and nodded. “Okay,” he said. 

Lucretia paused for a moment, then smirked. She stood and tugged on his pant leg to encourage him to reposition. He did so; she smiled as she put a hand on either of his knees and knelt down between them. 

“Is  _ this _ okay?” she echoed, watching as his brow turned upwards and his jaw tightened. He nodded. 

“If you want—” 

“Yeah, I think I  _ want, _ ” she laughed warmly and his blush deepened. 

She unzipped his pants, trying to maintain a neutral expression at the size of him, but he was bigger than she expected, and now, thinking about what he could do, how he could… She chewed her bottom lip as she ran a fingertip up the length of him and he shivered. A hundred dirty thoughts ran wild through her mind at once, but as she looked up at him and saw his hungry expression, she could only focus on pleasuring him first. 

“You want me to...?” she asked softly and his face twisted up. She paused, lightly rubbing circles on the underside of the tip, feeling him throbbing in her hand. “Can I?” 

“Yeah,” he managed to exhale. He rested a tense hand on his thigh. 

Lucretia smiled and leaned forward, positioned herself so she could take him into her mouth with ease. She pressed her tongue to the tip and listened for the tiny moan that slipped from him. She slid him into her mouth, shallow at first, then taking him deeper, pulling sounds from Magnus that grew in frequency and urgency as she sucked him. He moved his hand from its iron grip on his thigh to bury in her hair and she cried out around him. His hand guided the bobbing of her head; he let her lead, but held her there with firm pressure. When she took him as deeply as she could, he hit the back of her throat and she gagged, tears springing to her eyes. She pulled off of him and gasped with her hand still around the base of his cock. 

“Oh my god,” Magnus gasped as he held her back by her hair. She could feel the tear that had escaped rolling down her face, probably streaking mascara with it. “You don’t—” 

She took him back into her mouth and did the same, choking on him, listening to the moans that turned from tiny affirmations of pleasure to pleading cries for more. As he raised his hips off the couch, a twitch in her gut told her he was getting close, so she stopped. She wasn’t done yet. 

He cried out as she left him there, his cock twitching helplessly. She stood up and wiped away the tears and smudged mascara, straightened her clothes, then looked down at him and smiled fondly. “Want to go to bed? Might be comfier.” 

Magnus looked a little delirious. It was endearing. “Yeah, um, sure. Yup. Bed. Cool.” 

“Cool,” she repeated, then held out a hand to help him up. As he pulled himself onto his feet, she felt the full strength of his grip for just a moment; she couldn’t help the thoughts that followed after, just how tight he could hold her, just how long his hands might endure. She wobbled a little as she followed him to his bedroom. 

He put a hand out and gestured her into his bed to lay atop the sheets and pillows. As he removed his clothes, she started to crawl into bed on all fours, but he stopped her with one hand wrapped around her thigh. She rested back on her knees and watched him as he brought his hands to the hem of her shirt and pushed it up over her stomach and chest with careful attention. She wriggled out of it and he tossed it aside. Her stomach fussed with butterflies as he leaned forward and brought her down onto her back on the pillows. He got her out of her pants first, then kneeled there before her, her lingerie the only thing left between them. The heat inside her started to pulse as he got closer, every piece of her pulled to him like a magnet. He craned down to kiss her open mouth and she let out a tiny cry of frustration. She wanted him so badly. She  _ had  _ wanted him so badly even before, when she had pressed the heel of her hand against her clit and came, thinking about just this. She couldn’t wait anymore. 

“Mag—“ she started to say, but she was interrupted by Magnus gripping her around both thighs and tugging her down the bed so he could rest between her legs. “Oh!” 

“This okay?” His eyes were gentle, but they were hungry, too. He backed up a bit more so his head was over her hips. He kissed the crease of her thigh and she shivered, then chuckled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she repeated softly, slipping her hand into his hair. “Good.” 

She watched his expression slightly shift at the word, something wanting but something  _ more _ , but he was doing his best to hide it. But Lucretia could have already guessed that a man like Magnus would enjoy a little praise. She’d confessed her admiration back at the bar, and the way he’d looked at her after, the way he had kissed her so hard in response, it just made her feel…

She moaned as he pulled away her panties and placed his hand over her mound. She couldn’t help but thrust up against his palm, hoping for enough pressure to get some release, but he let up enough that she could get nothing out of the touch, save for the tiny bit of teasing he allowed. She opened her eyes and found him smirking down at his handiwork. 

Before she could dwell on the look he was giving, her view was obstructed by him sinking down to kiss the meeting of her thighs. She let her eyes fall closed once more. She hadn’t necessarily expected him to reciprocate, but she wasn’t going to complain. As he spread her with two fingers, she felt him smiling against her skin, his hot breath fanning lightly over her clit. He hummed, asking for permission, and she put her hand in his hair and hummed back to tell him  _ yes.  _ He grinned against her, then laid his tongue over her, causing her to draw a sharp breath. 

He ran his tongue up and down, back and forth, the tip teasing the hood of her clit, then beneath it. She sighed in satisfaction and ran her hands through his hair. Her pulse thrummed through her whole body and hammered in her ear.  _ More, more,  _ but still too shy to beg him for it. He came up for a breath and she shuddered. 

“Hm?” Magnus looked up at her at the same time she felt a finger teasing her clit, then down to rest at her opening. 

“Oh,” she managed to say, “Yes?” She wanted to kick herself for her nerves, but he just laughed, though not unkindly. 

“ _ Yes _ it is, then,” he said, returning to his work.

She squeezed her eyes shut as he slipped a finger inside her and curled upward, stroking firmly. Magnus knew what he was doing without a doubt. When he added a second finger and repeated the motion she cried out, and when he put his mouth on her once more she saw stars on the back of her eyelids. She was sure she was babbling his name now but she couldn’t stop, hands tugging at his hair, thighs tight on either side of his face.

Magnus broke away for breath once more and she writhed in protest. “Don’t think I’m patient enough to wait…” he said breathlessly. She pulled his head back to look at him and found him covered in her wetness, nose to chin. Her bottom lip quivered hard enough that she bit down to stop it, lust lashing quickly through her gut.

She didn’t have time to respond til he was back at it again, fucking her with his hand and his mouth. She felt the shift of his muscles under her legs and feet and all the thoughts of him— at the gym, at the bar, alone on her back in her own bed before he even knew how she felt, and did he, did he think about her too?— all of it nearly brought her to the edge of her orgasm alone. 

Then, he drew her clit between his lips and sucked at the same time that he picked up his pace fucking her, and he put the other one of those huge hands atop her thigh, just like he had done at the gym, and that was all it took. 

She managed to stammer out a desperate “ _ Don’t stop!”  _ and he didn’t, just kept the same even pace that brought her steadily to the brink, hanging on to the feeling of his hair and his warm skin and his hands on her. All at once she came around his fingers with a rush of wetness against his mouth that he relished and lapped up greedily. With everything gone spinning and white-hot, her back arched totally off the mattress, she couldn’t loosen her grip on him until she started to come back down.

He groaned against her and slowly withdrew. “Fuck,” he breathed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. 

Lucretia was suddenly self-conscious, laying there exposed and having just…

“I’m so sorry—“ she started to apologize, but he shook his head to stop her. He shushed her with a finger to her lips, a finger still covered in her wetness, and for a moment he hesitated, but Lucretia capitalized on his lack of shame. She took the finger into her mouth and licked the taste of herself off of him. 

“Way better than  _ sorry, _ ” he murmured, voice gone ragged and raw. He guided her swiftly and easily backwards onto the mattress and it made her head spin; she was still reeling and limp from her orgasm, and he was going to… 

“Can I fuck you?”  he asked in a low voice, his clever gaze gone starving.

“Yes,” she breathed back,  _ needing.  _ At once needing more than she knew she could need.

When she glanced down, she could see how hard he was after all that, at his erection bouncing against his stomach as he crawled up the bed to hover over her. Then, he moved over to the bedside table and took a condom from the drawer and rolled it over himself. All the while she watched him, admiring his body as she waited.

“My eyes are up here,” he teased with a satisfied smirk. 

She blushed. “You make it hard not to look.” 

“That so?” 

She nodded, her gut twisting as he eased himself down into a kiss, the weight of him on top of her. He held himself up easily, though, keeping her comfortable, keeping his cock in the slim space between their bodies as he made her wait for it. She put a hand on his chest, waiting for a moment and then moving slowly downwards over his chest, admiring the muscle once more, biting down on her lip, and this time he could see her as she did. 

“Yeah?” he said, brow raised. 

“Yes.” She took his cock into her hand. She stroked him once, twice, feeling it twitching in her hand the moment she stopped. “So big,” she breathed in a moment of confidence. He groaned. “Mhm? You like it when I—” 

“Lucretia,” he said through his teeth as she stroked faster. His voice was like a firework speeding through her, sending sparks down her spine as it rushed to explode between her thighs. The sound of her name in his mouth left her throbbing. 

She finally gave in and nodded to him, giving him permission to lean back to line himself up, making sure she was still good and ready. And she was as he pressed against her opening and her eyes fluttered shut. He entered her slowly and let her stretch around the size of him. Her hand flew to his back, her nails dug little marks into his flesh, and she moaned as he slipped inside her, the tip filling her plenty before he pushed even further inside. 

“Oh,” she said in a hoarse whisper. “Oh, that’s good.” 

His jaw tensed, quips gone silent and replaced with lust. 

“Fuck me,” she demanded, though her voice shook with the slight edge of nervousness that was still there. “I need you to.” 

And so he did. He leaned back and took both her hips into his hands, his tight grip driving her mad. He slid all the way into her and she cried out at the feeling of it, completely full and aching and building towards another orgasm already. She knew it wouldn’t be long. 

“God, that’s good,  _ fuck,”  _ breathed Lucretia, shocked at her own confidence but too lost in her pleasure to be shy. “So good, please—” 

Magnus made a guttural sound and gripped her tighter, but she pulled on his arms to tug him down into a hot, sloppy kiss. He groaned and exhaled into her mouth, the suggestion of her name there on his lips but never quite getting the whole thing out. She wanted him to come too, that much was certain, and she didn’t want to wait anymore. Her need pulsed in the deepest parts of her, parts that had been silent for so long that they felt brand new again. She dragged her nails down his back. 

“Been thinking about this,” Magnus said through gritted teeth as he slowed his pace. “Have you?” 

She nodded quickly and canted her hips up to his insistently, not wanting him to slow down. 

“I touched myself,” she admitted in a rush. “I had to, I couldn’t stop—” 

Magnus thrust forward and kissed her hard. He took her bottom lip between his teeth and sucked, then kissed across her cheekbone to her neck where he left marks with the same enthusiasm. 

“God, I wanna make you come again. You think about  _ that?”  _

_ “Yes.”  _ Of course she had, how could she not? And that drove him wild, made him fuck her faster and harder, and his hand moved to her clit where he pressed and moved in a light circle in time with his thrusts. “Give it to me,” she gasped.

Magnus cursed, his pace holding steady, small sounds tumbling out of his mouth in time with their movement. It built in her quickly, quicker than she expected, a second climax that caught her off guard as he sucked on her earlobe and kissed down her neck. She felt the muscles of his back beneath her hands, his hips snapping forward quickly, easily, and it rolled forth and took her all at once as a crashing wave that knocked her sideways. She came around him with a cry, throbbing and shuddering all over again with the same force as before. His name tumbled from her lips, over and over again. 

His release wasn’t far behind. He fucked her through her orgasm and kept fucking, gripped her ass tight to pull her down hard onto his cock, and he lifted her leg onto her shoulder, like stretching, like— and another wave,  _ impossible,  _ she thought, but another small orgasm that curled her toes and rolled her eyes as he neared his own. He finally pulled away from her to stroke himself against her thigh and came with a shout, trembling, putting a hand on either side of her to hold himself up. 

Slowly, panting and shaking, he lowered himself down, then just flopped down onto his back beside her. 

"Uh, fuck," Magnus laughed. "I— yeah, wow, I, um…" 

Lucretia blinked, trying to take in everything that had just happened. "Wow is right." When she glanced over at him, he was flushed bright red, a question in his eyes. "Everything okay?" 

"Did you— were you serious? When you said you'd thought about…" 

She blushed too, face gone even hotter than his. "I mean, yes, I hope that's not…" 

"No! No it's— it's good."

"So you're not going to run screaming?" 

"Hey, I wasn't the one screaming." He winked and gave a sly grin. 

Lucretia smacked his arm, an unbridled laugh bursting from her. "Magnus Burnsides!" 

"Yes?" He grinned and something fluttered in her gut. "At your service."

"Indeed." 

Magnus held out an arm and she obliged, laying on his chest. He pulled the covers over them and rubbed her arm.

"We'll...go out again sometime?" Lucretia said, hoping for something more, maybe. Anything more with him.

"Or stay in…" 

He laughed and she felt the deep vibration of it against the side of her face. She smiled against his skin and sighed.

"Or that, yeah." 

Magnus squeezed her to his side. "Wanna stay?" 

"That would be nice," she said. Her smile stayed, too.

* * *

In the morning she woke up beside him, which was delightful and warm in itself, and found him already awake. 

"I was going to make you breakfast," he said with smile, "but I was feeling lazy. Could I  _ buy  _ you breakfast?" 

Lucretia smiled. "Sure."

He walked around the room, still naked, a welcome sight as she eyed him with remnants of lust from the night before. When she peeled her gaze away, she found her clothes in their scattered places on the floor and got dressed herself, not without a playful wolf whistle from Magnus as she did. She blushed. 

At the door of the apartment complex, Magnus offered her an arm and she took it. They walked to the coffee shop together, taking their time, just chatting about life outside of the gym. Magnus loved dogs— like,  _ really  _ loved dogs— and though she was more of a cat person, she found it quite endearing that he brought it up again. He trained people in fitness, but he really wanted to train dogs. 

He asked her about her writing, and her cat, too, and said that he'd like to meet him sometime. Lucretia's stomach gave a giddy twist and she tried to hide her wide smile as she said, "I'm sure he'd like to meet you, too."

Lucretia took a deep breath outside the coffee shop; she secretly hoped Taako wasn’t working, for sake of living down the—  _ the date?  _ she thought— later, but through the window she saw the flash of blonde hair behind the counter. They walked in and she offered to save them a table (and perhaps save face) while Magnus ordered their breakfast. 

Taako, however, couldn’t be fooled. He jumped over the counter and came to the table with a rag and a plate with two muffins, making a show of wiping the surface and setting the food down in front of her before putting his hands on his hips. 

“Nice hickey,” he said with a snicker. “You kids have fun?” 

Lucretia ignored the blush that rose on her face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Uh huh. Well, muffins are on the house. He likes cinnamon chip.” 

Magnus returned with a chai and a caramel latte and set them down on the table. 

“You bothering my date? Do I need to get the manager?” Magnus elbowed Taako before sitting down. 

“Yeah, tell him I’ve been taking cash out of the register for mojitos again.” Taako winked at Lucretia before leaving them alone once more. 

“I ordered the breakfast sandwiches. He brought these over?” 

Lucretia nodded. “On the house.” 

Magnus took the cinnamon muffin and took a bite of the top before peeling off the wrapper. “Our lucky day!” he said with a mouthful, spewing a few crumbs on the table. Lucretia laughed. 

They ate quietly, comfortably, chatting here and there in no real rush. “What do you have going on today?” she asked. 

“Well, work, unfortunately,” Magnus said, but then he perked up. “Are you coming to the gym later?” 

From the counter, Taako called out,  _ “Maggie!”  _ and placed their sandwiches on the far end of the counter. Magnus stood up. 

“I— yeah?” 

“We can work out together! Not, like, training, just, yeah!” 

Lucretia nodded with a laugh. “Sure, yes.” 

“Cool, cool, cool.” 

Again, just to be difficult, Taako called  _ “Maggie!”  _ and Magnus went to retrieve the sandwiches. He grinned as he carried the plates back to the table. 

_ Cool,  _ she thought, smiling back.

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
